The present invention relates to food containers and, more particularly, to an array of ribs of multiple depths and angles in the side wall and bottom of a rigid plastic food container to reinforce the food container.
A container often used with hot foods such as roasted or broiled whole chicken has a lid and base thermoformed from plastic material. When this container is heated by the cooked food, and/or Hot case, the plastic of the container base can get soft and bend along a transverse line in reaction to the weight of the chicken when the base is grasped at one end and lifted. Ribs are formed in the base to reinforce the base but the rib patterns alone do not provide sufficient reinforcement and a thicker material for the base is often required. This increases the cost of the container. It is desirable to provide a rib array or pattern for the base of these containers that provides sufficient reinforcement to allow a thinner material to be used in thermoforming the base.
The present invention provides a pattern or array of ribs in a side wall and bottom of a thermoformed plastic container base that resists bending of the base when it is warm or cold and filled with food. The pattern includes a plurality of rib units formed in the side wall. The rib units provide multiple depths and multiple angles such that there is no straight path for bending.
In addition, a plurality of ribs are formed in the bottom of the base. The ribs are of different heights and angles relative to each other and the different heights and angles are alternated. This array or pattern prevents the formation of a straight bend line through the bottom of the base reducing the likelihood of bending under a load. This array includes longitudinal ribs extending the length of the bottom to create a beam that inhibits bending of the bottom when the base is picked up at an end of the base.